Union Juive Francaise pour la Paix

The French Jewish Union for Peace has denounced Israel's call for a boycott of Durban II and called on its own government to attend and support the conference. Here's the Alternative Information Centre:

In April 2009 the United Nations Review Conference, dubbed Durban II after the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, will be conducted in Geneva. This conference is intended to review implementation of the recommendations taken seven years ago concerning the fight of countries against racism and discrimination.

(20 November 2008) During its yearly conference, the Union Juive Francaise pour la Paix published a statement in response to the decisions of the Israeli and American governments to boycott the upcoming conference. Following is the translation of this document:

It is now official: the state of Israel calls for the boycott of the fourth World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in Geneva on 24-28 April 2009.

This conference is meant to coordinate various meetings to evaluate the implementation of the 2001 Durban conference recommendations, so that countries throughout the world can more effectively fight against racism, racist discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. At the end of seven years, the UN official responsible since August of this year to monitor the fight against racism came to the conclusion that little, very little, has been done by countries.

The Foreign Minister of Israel justified the Israeli refusal to participate in the upcoming conference by noting that “The documents prepared for the conference indicate that it is turning once again into an anti-Israeli tribunal, singling out and delegitimizing the state of Israel." The conference, she continued, "has nothing to do with fighting racism.” The minister called on other states to follow Israel’s decision.

The UJFP calls upon all democratic organizations and peoples to contact state institutions and the (French) President to ensure that France will guarantee the existence of this conference and take an active part in it.

Is Israel's non-attendance such a bad thing? It would be farcical to have Israel at a conference against racism when racism is Israel's, what do they say in French? ah yes, raison d'être.